Shattered Fates
by X009
Summary: Ichigo fails the Shattered shaft and become a Hollow. Also, an ancient, powerful Arrancar is forced to join the Espada.How will these change affect the Bleach universe? Poor Summary, crossover with Bleach: the 3rd Phantom with slightly changed story.
1. Chapter 1

**Author note please read**

**This is my first attempt at anything like this, so please don't be too harsh or flame me. As I wrote in my profile, I'm not really confident in my writing skills and I'm afraid the characters will act OOC or it will sound too much like similar stories, but I've had some idea's for a fanfic and I wanted to try it out. My story is partially inspired by my favorite Arrancar Ichigo stories: "To Find a Purpose in Death" and "Tyrant Lizard". Read them, they're awesome. **

**Theme of the story: Ichigo will become a hollow in the shattered shaft and the main story will be crossed over with Bleach The 3rd****phantom and a few changes (for anyone who hasn't played the game, the storyline is a bit different from canon, for example, Urahara was a captain and Aizen was a lieutenant before Shinji became a captain in the game and while Yoruichi was captain of the Onmitsukido but not yet 2****nd**** Division captain).**

**I do expect readers to know the series and know what the canon characters look like. I will include question answering author notes at the beginning of most chapters and character profiles for altered characters and OC's, as well as questions for readers at the end.**

**Also, is anyone interested in Beta Reading my story? I need may someone who will help me with characterization, romance, and possibly casual dialogue.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

* * *

Urahara shop

Underneath the Urahara shop, in the secret training room, all eyes were on an orange haired boy at the bottom of a deep pit.

Ichigo Kurosaki was at the bottom of the shattered shaft attempting to regain his shinigami powers. The goal was to awaken his powers before all the links in his chain of fate corroded and he became a hollow. A few moments ago, Jinta had come down with food, asking if he was hungry because it was a sign he would Hollowfy soon. Ichigo thought he still had time as there were still several links left.

"It's already been about 70 hours since you came into the shattered shaft, you should be turning into a hollow right about now. One more thing, the final erosion is nothing like the others." Jinta said.

Almost immediately, Ichigo feels intense pain from his chest, stronger than any of the previous erosions. He looks down at the chain and his eyes widen in horror. All the links of the chain grow mouths and the chain begins to devour itself completely.

"All…all the chains!? No, stop! Sto-!" Ichigo yelled, but before he could finish all the links and the base were gone, leaving an empty hole in the center of his chest. Ichigo screams in agony as the pain intensifies to ungodly proportions and a white liquid pours out of his mouth and eyes, beginning to form a mask as his reiatsu spikes.

At the top of the Shaft, Kisuke Urahara's eyes narrow, now begins the real test. In the back of his mind, he wonders if he should have explained the purpose and possible consequences of the test more clearly and the fact that he most likely wouldn't be able to enter his inner world before this point. Either way, it didn't matter now, all he could do was put his faith in Isshin's son.

"Oh crap, he's really gonna turn into a hollow!" Jinta exclaims upon climbing back to the top of the shaft. He had just been trying to scare the guy, he wouldn't wish that fate on his worst enemy.

"I have to help." Ururu says.

"Hold it." Urahara states calmly, stopping her. "Look at him closely. Normally, when a soul becomes a hollow, the soul explodes and reconstitutes itself into that of a hollow, then the mask forms. But his transformation is out of order. The mask formed first, that is a sign of resistance." Kisuke explains. "So just watch and see if he really becomes a hollow, just a little while longer." Ururu and Jinta nod and look back into the hole, both trying to seem calm but you could tell they were concerned.

At the bottom of the shaft, Ichigo's screams become gurgled by the liquid, his mask half complete. Inside the teen's mind, the spirit of his Zanpakuto has told him how to save himself, to find his dormant Shinigami powers hidden within one of countless boxes created from the crumbling landscape of his mind, he had to find it before his world completely fell apart, but he was failing, struggling to think while time was running out.

At the top of the Shaft, Kisuke, despite his calm exterior, begins to worry. Perhaps he won't make it after all. Could he have just basically killed his old friend's only son?

The restraints created by Tessai's Bakudo #99 are blown apart by the ever increasing reiatsu and the mask is almost complete.

"This is the limit, Manager! I'm switching to suppression mode!" Tessai yells to those at top of the shaft. Kisuke nods and closes his eyes, there was almost no chance Ichigo would make it at this point.

"Bakudo #99 part 2 Bankin!" Tessai yells out.

"First song: Shiryuu!" As Tessai casts the kido spell, Ichigo is bound by countless threads of spiritual fabric.

"Second song: Hyakurensan!" Ichigo is impaled by a hundred metal bolts.

"Hey, Tessai, If you hit him with that, he'll die for sure!" Jinta exclaims

"At this point I have no choice. I can no longer restrain him, he must be destroyed before he becomes a hollow."

* * *

Ichigo's Inner World

Ichigo had finally found a way to find his Shinigami powers, quickly, he summons the reiraku, the spirit threads, as a Shinigami's will be red. Sure enough, within the countless threads, he finds one red one. But, unfortunately, its too late.

He reaches for the red spirit thread and grabs hold, only for it to disintegrate at his touch. He gasps and his eyes widen. He frantically looks around to see all the boxes disintegrating and his entire inner world fade to black. In a moment, his own body begins to disintegrate.

'_No, I can't-, I can't die like this, I have to save Rukia, I have to protect my family, my friends…_' He thinks as memories of his family and friends flash before his eyes. His last thoughts before his consciousness fades completely.

* * *

Real World

As Kisuke, Ururu and Jinta look into the pit, they gasp as the sheer reiatsu Ichigo is releasing tears apart the threads, revealing a complete hollow mask, a fearsome skull-like mask with piranha-like teeth and five red lines on the left side for a brief moment before Tessai completes his spell.

"Final Song: Bankin Taiho!" Tessai calls out.

A huge metal cube appears above Ichigo and crashes down, only to be blown away by an immense wave of reiatsu as Ichigo's transformation is completed. Immediately afterwards, a figure surrounded by white and red energy flew out of the shaft, landing on the other side from where Kisuke, Ururu, and Jinta were standing, the impact creating a cloud which completely obscured the figure.

All three watch as the cloud clears and look on in horror at Ichigo's hollow form. It appeared to be a large, white humanoid lizard with long, spiky orange hair, red markings going up its arms, legs, and tail, five tall spikes coming out of each shoulder, and a menacing skull like mask with five red lines on its left side.

'_So, its come to this after all…_' Kisuke thinks as his eyes narrow, he had been certain the teen would succeed. But, here they were, looking at a fully transformed Ichigo. The hollow roars and lunges at the three, raising its right claw.

The trio jump away as Ichigo brings down his claw, slamming it into the ground and creating another dust cloud. Kisuke draws his Zanpakuto from his cane the moment he lands and looks at to the children, seeing them prepare to fight.

"Ururu, Jinta, find a place to hide and stay there until this is over." Kisuke orders.

"But…" Jinta begins

"Listen, he's too strong for you, you'll just get in the way."

Jinta and Ururu, realizing Kisuke is right, decide to listen and flee after a moment of inner conflict. Hiding behind some of the nearby rock formations. As Tessai climbs out of the hole.

The hollow charges at Urahara with speed unheard of for a basic hollow and slashes at Kisuke who parries the strike, but is sent skidding backwards by the unexpected amount of power behind the hollows attack. The hollow, seeing that he is off balance, whips around and strikes Kisuke from the right with his tail, sending him flying into one of the many rocks in the area. The hollow lunges, stabbing at him, Kisuke Shunpos out of the way, the attack crashes into the ground and creates another dust cloud, but this time Kisuke keeps track of Ichigo. Re-appearing behind the hollow, he slashes its back. Blood sprays from the wound and the hollow roars in anger, as the hollow turns and counters with jab of his left claw, Kisuke's eyes narrow, he had meant for the cut to be much deeper.

Kisuke jumps out of range of the jab but the hollow charges and relentlessly slashes at him, after blocking several slashes Kisuke once more Shunpos behind the hollow, when he reappears his eyes widen, the wound he had made was gone. _'High speed regeneration?' _Kisuke thinks.

The hollow, having anticipated he would try this smirks behind his mask, once more whipping his tail at the former captain. Kisuke, too close to dodge, blocks the attack and is sent flying.

Kisuke can hardly believe how strong the hollow is. He didn't think he would need to use his Shikai, but it was obvious now he had would have to put more effort into this.

"Awaken, Benihime(Crimson Princess)" Kisuke say calmly, releasing his Zanpakuto and firing a blast of crimson energy at the hollow who dodges and rushes towards him. Kisuke notices Tessai preparing a spell behind him and shunpos out of the way.

"Hado #63 Raikoho!" Tessai calls out, firing a lightning like blast of yellow energy which the hollow is unable to avoid, Kisuke immediately follows up with another wave of crimson energy. The dust cloud from the attacks hides the Hollow completely. Suddenly, both exiled Shinigami's eyes widen in shock as a large worm-like entity charges from the cloud towards Kisuke, its mouth wide open.

"What the hell!?" Kisuke exclaims. He blocks the creature with his sword but is driven back a few yards before he jumps backwards, putting distance between himself and the thing and swipes his sword, unleashing another crimson energy wave and destroying the creature instantly. its body disintegrates, revealing Ichigo, its source, standing where he had been hit before, growling. whatever wounds there attacks gave him already healed.

"It would seem we have underestimated him, manager." Tessai states as he watches the hollow recover.

"Yes, even so, we shouldn't be having this much trouble with him." Kisuke replies. "We've really gotten out of shape over the last 100 years, huh?" He says with a smirk which immediately fades, once more completely serious. "Lets stop playing around, Tessai."

Suddenly, the hollow points at them with two fingers of its left claw and a small but powerful orb of red reiryoku forms at its fingertips. Kisuke and Tessai are shocked by this.

'_It can't be! A Cero!?_' Kisuke thinks alarmed. "Shit!" Kisuke curses, raising his Zanpakuto, pointing the blade at the ground just as the Hollow fires the Cero and a powerful blast of pure reiryoku speeds towards them.

"Scream, Benihime!" Kisuke yells just before the blast hits. Ichigo grins behind his mask and laughs sadistically until the smoke from the blast clears and he sees that a cracked wall of what appears to be hardened blood shielded his targets from the attack, at which point the tilts his head back roars in frustration as the Shield disintegrates.

"Tessai!" Kisuke calls out and Tessai nods, understanding. Neither of them had ever heard of a Hollow outside Menos able to fire a Cero, let alone one that powerful. They shuddered to think what he would be like if he evolved. They had to end this now, before Ichigo realized he couldn't win and retreated.

With that, Tessai begins chanting an incantation as Urahara charges, the hollow does the same, not realizing the significance of Tessai's chant and ignoring him completely. Kisuke slashes at the hollow who jumps back, out of reach and roars as he lunges at Kisuke. Kisuke parries three attacks before deciding that he had given Tessai just about enough time and jumps back, the hollow jumps high and dives at Urahara who (**A/N this move has so far only been used in Bleach: fade to black**) raises his Zanpakuto and points its blade at the ground. Suddenly, a transparent barrier of red energy appears in front of Kisuke, which blocks the lizard-like hollow's attack. "Now shred, Benihime!" Kisuke calls out and immediately, countless small blasts of energy erupt from the shield and pelt the hollow, who snarls as he is driven through the air by the force of the attacks.

Once he is far enough away, the former captain Shunpos away as Tessai points his right hand at Ichigo and grasps his wrist with his left hand. Ichigo's eyes widen, remembering the last Kido spell, immediately gathering Reishi at his feet, jumping seemingly off thin air away from Tessai in an attempt to get as far away from him as possible and have a better chance of dodging, unaware there would be no chance of dodging this.

"Hado #88: Hiryu gekizoku shinten raiho!" Tessai yells. Ichigo's (who is still in midair) eyes widen once more as an enormous blast of blue energy erupts from Tessai's hand, far too big and fast to dodge. The hollow focuses all his reiatsu to shield him as best he can and braces himself, covering his face with his claws.

Kisuke watches the blast envelope the hollow and explode before closing his eyes and sighing. He stands there for a moment before turning toward the ladder that led to the actual shop as Tessai follows and Ururu and Jinta come out from behind a bolder nearby. Kisuke begins to sheath his sword.

"Lets g-" before he can finish their startled by a spike of dark, twisted reiatsu. '_Impossible!_' They quickly turn around and are shocked to see Ichigo still standing, breathing heavily and covered in burns and lacerations from the blast, his right arm is limp and his mask cracked in several places. The hollow roars as white liquid pours out of the cracks in his mask restoring it and the wounds and burns begin to heal, albeit much more slowly than before.

Kisuke begins to rush towards the hollow to deal a finishing blow, but after that attack Ichigo realized they hadn't been going all out and he had little chance of survival if he stayed. Before Kisuke can take five steps, the hollow vanishes in a black vortex.

Kisuke halts and stands there in disbelief that he had actually gotten away. He begins questioning himself. Where did he go wrong? Was he wrong for not explaining the true objective of the shattered shaft and trusting Ichigo to figure it out on his own, or not telling him the consequences of failure before cutting the chain of fate. Ichigo had been stronger than most Adjuchas level Menos Kisuke had encountered over his long life, if he evolved into an actual Adjuchas, or, in the worst case scenario a Vasto Lorde, he may have just handed Aizen the war. He, Tessai, Ururu and Jinta stare briefly at the spot the hollow stood, then wordlessly head up to the shop.

As they make their way to up, Kisuke thinks to himself that they will need to send stronger fighters with Ichigo gone and due to the barrier, he and Tessai were unable to go themselves. Yoruichi would definitely have to go in her human form from the start and do her best to get back in shape before the Senkaimon was complete. As for others, he had two in mind, one would likely want to go when he found out what happened to Ichigo, his son, but the other one wouldn't be so easy to convince. He hoped if he made it clear how dire the situation was this man would come around, but he hated Shinigami, and wanted nothing to do with spirits, despite his power and skill.

* * *

In Hueco Mundo

Ichigo had just arrived in Hueco Mundo. An infinite desert of white sand and small tree's that seem to be made of a quartz like crystal, the only light coming from a large, crescent moon in the sky. He can't tell what it is but something in him feels as if he belongs here, as if this place has always been his home. The dense reishi filled air invigorates him and accelerates his healing. He also notices a strange feeling, as if something is missing from his very being, and a ravenous hunger.

Suddenly, a snake-like hollow rushes at him from behind but he senses it coming, he side steps and impales it at the base of its head, taking a bite out of its neck before it vanishes. He feels a boost in power and, for a moment, the hunger subside. After resting for a few minutes, recovering after his battle with the exiled captains, he goes off in search for more.

* * *

In the World of the living

There was silence in the Urahara Shop. Kisuke Urahara was sitting at a table with a serious and slightly remorseful expression. He had truly believed Ichigo would successfully complete the training, and still found it hard to believe their attempt to purify him and send him to Soul Society had failed, he had never seen a newly created hollow that powerful before. And now, because of his miscalculation Ichigo had suffered the worst fate imaginable to most and not only did he have to bear the guilt, he would have to break it to his family and friends

Not since 100 years ago, when he couldn't save the eight Shinigami who became the Vizard had he felt that he had failed so completely, but at least then he had seen it coming and planned for it. The moment the crisis began, he had recognized the signs of hollowfication experiments and predicted that the situation would spiral into the worst case scenario. Here, he had been totally blindsided. Not only had he expected Ichigo to succeed, he never imagined that he would fail to purify him should he become a hollow.

"Things sure are quiet around here, what happened?" Kisuke turns to find the black cat that was Yoruichi Shihoin. Kisuke sighs.

"Ichigo failed the shattered shaft training and we were unable to purify him." Kisuke states, causing Yoruichi's eyes to widen.

"What do you mean you couldn't purify him, how could a former captain fail to purify a newborn hollow?" Yoruichi questions, shocked.

"Well… the hollow he became was much stronger than I expected. He was stronger than most Adjuchas I've seen. He had a very tough hide, high speed regeneration, and he could use Cero. I underestimated him, and was put on the defensive, he even nearly got me with a few times. Tessai hit him with Hado # 63, nothing. We thought we had him with a Hado #88, but he survived and vanished before we could finish him. " Yoruichi's eyes widen more and more throughout his explanation, he was that powerful as a basic hollow?

"Oh god, Kisuke. If he evolves…" Yoruichi begins

"I know." Kisuke cuts her off, putting a hand to his forehead and closing his eyes. He was well aware of the potential Ichigo had.

"Do you want me to tell Isshin, or Ichigo's friend's?"

"No, its my fault, I'll tell Isshin tonight and Chad, Uryu, and Orihime in the morning." Kisuke responds, getting up. Deciding its time to break the news to his old friend.

* * *

Kurosaki Clinic

Yuzu and Karin, Ichigo's younger sisters were asleep in their room while Isshin, their father was awake in the Kitchen with a glass of water. He couldn't sleep and for the first time in a long while, the ex-captain Shinigami was afraid, but he didn't know why. He just had an ominous feeling, like he had the day his wife Masaki never came back. As a experienced captain, he had developed a sort of sixth sense about these things. About when something terrible had, or was going, to happen, and right now he was feeling it more strongly than ever before, he prayed that it was nothing, sadly, it wasn't.

There is a knock at the door, he hesitates for a moment before he gets up to answer it. It was Kisuke Urahara, and he had a somber look on his face. Now he know why he felt this way, he knew Ichigo had gone to Urahara to restore his Shinigami powers, something must have happened, the question is what?

"Kisuke, what happened?" Isshin questioned calmly. Internally, he was anxious to know if anything had happened to his son.

"…I put Ichigo through the Shattered shaft, and he failed…" Kisuke responds. Isshin takes it surprisingly well, merely sighing. In truth, this was largely because he could feel something terrible had happened and had been preparing himself for this all night.

"So, you purified him?" He asks

"I wish I had been able to."

"What?" Isshin asks, surprised.

"Because of the high reiryoku levels he had in life, he was stronger than we had anticipated, by the time we realized we would have to go all out, he fled to Hueco Mundo." Kisuke states, afterward going into detail about exactly what happened and how powerful Ichigo had become.

"I see…" Isshin responds with a low tone, staring at the ground with a contemplative and solemn look on his face. Looking up he sees an apologetic look on Kisuke's face. "I'm sorry about this Isshin."

"I don't blame you for this." He couldn't after all it was his son's decision, no, the one to blame for this was the one who was responsible for him losing his powers, the 6th Division captain: Byakuya Kuchiki.

"What are you going to tell the girls?" Kisuke asks.

"I'll think of something." Isshin replies. He already knew how to handle the body, call in a favor from Ryuken Ishida, as he runs a hospital, he could fake cause of death.

"You have a way to restore my powers right? I want to take my son's place and rescue Rukia, it was his last wish to save her." Urahara nods and leaves without a word. Isshin returns to his seat, silently grieving for his son and thinking of how he would explain his death to his sisters. They didn't know about Shinigami or hollows, not that he would tell them the truth anyway. He wouldn't tell them what their older brother had become even if they were aware of all this, he would have to think.

* * *

In Hueco Mundo

Ichigo had just killed and devoured a few hollow. At the moment he was alone and he had satisfied his hunger. He paused to think, covering his right eye with his claw, who was he? How did he die?

He knew from instinct what he was, a hollow, a human soul who had lost his heart and had to devour other souls to fill the void. But, he could only vaguely remember his life. He remembered his name: Ichigo Kurosaki. He remembered his family in a few brief, scattered memories, but in those memories, the surroundings were blurred, he couldn't see their faces, he couldn't recall their names. He also remembered fighting hollows, which didn't make any sense, how could a human fight and kill a hollow? He figured it likely had something to do with why he was so much stronger than these pathetic hollows he had slain so easily. There were a few other, scattered memories, mostly of others he assumed had been important to him in life.

He is broken out of his thoughts when another hollow strikes, it had hidden itself under the sand, it was weak, a lamb to the slaughter.

The hollow attempted to slash him as soon as it burst from the sand, which Ichigo easily jumps back out of range. It pulls it left claw back for another swipe, but Ichigo lunges forward and pierces its mask with his right claw, killing it instantly. He takes a bite before it disintegrates. Immediately, several more hollows burst from the sand. Ichigo smirks, too easy.

* * *

A lone figure walks across the white, moonlit desert of Hueco Mundo. This figure had near shoulder length turquoise hair, pale skin, yellow eyes and was wearing a standard Arrancar uniform with slightly shorter sleeves. His mask remnant was the upper right jaw of his mask which stretched around the back of his head in a sort of crest.

The figure was Arturo Plateado, the current Primera Espada, the strongest Arrancar in Aizen's army. The millennia old Arrancar was currently in search of Vasto Lorde and any above average Adjuchas to add to Aizen's growing army and was in search of a Vasto Lorde reported to be nearby. It infuriated him, to this day, the situation he was in. He was so close, he had almost wiped out the Shinigami 120 years ago, and, when it looked like his victory was assured, it was stolen from him by that pathetic flea and that accursed Shisui Mirror. It sapped him of his power, rendering him little stronger then a lieutenant, and then, when he had been moments from destroying it, it began radiating a strange, dark energy. He had sensed the danger and fled through a Garganta. At the last second before it closed behind him, he had felt a wave of power that seemed like it was ripping through dimensions.

In his weakened state, he had hid deep within Hueco Mundo, as he rested and fed upon any weak Hollows that had the misfortune of coming nearby, he reflected on how he had failed, twice now. After a few years, he realized something. All Hollows and Arrancar, including himself, were arrogant to the point that it would often lead to self destruction. He had seen two mistakes. One, he had made no investment in allies, bringing only mindless Hollows, a few Gillian and one intelligent Hollow, he should have gathered Vasto Lorde, or at the very least Adjuchas, with his power, it would have been easy for him, he just didn't bother. Two, overconfidence, the moment he realized the Mirror was stealing his power, he should have fled and regrouped or immediately focused all he had on killing the woman, guarded by only one captain, instead, he believed that no matter what, he still had no chance of failure and ignored it, intending to finish her off later and that cost him dearly.

Then, once he restored his power, he began to strengthen himself and plan his next move. But then, Aizen found him…

_(Flashback)_

_Arturo was resting in a large circular chamber lit by an otherworldly pale green fire in the center, in a cave deep within the Menos Forest, . He had gathered a small number of Adjuchas who were standing guard outside. It had been 50 years since his failed attack on Soul Society, he still couldn't believe it, it had taken him years to fully recover while in hiding, whatever that mirror had done, it hadn't simply stolen his powers. It didn't matter now though, he had now fully recovered, and soon would take his revenge on the Shinigami for the wrongs done to him and Hollows, and for the fact that they dared to stand against him. This time, he would do it right, he would unite Hueco Mundo under his rule, not that difficult for him to do… he had just never bothered, and with the power of the Vasto Lordes added to his own, they would be unstoppable._

_Suddenly, he frowns as he hears death groans outside and feels his minions reiatsu vanish. He activates his Pesquisa and his eyes shot open. _'What is this!? This reiatsu, its definitely that of a Shinigami, yet… its stronger than my own…this can't be! None exist who are stronger than I am!' _Arturo thinks, shocked by this, he was a Vasto Lorde, and he had absorbed the power of captains. How could any Shinigami be stronger than him. Whoever it was wasn't alone either, there were two others, with reiatsu levels above the average captain. They were approaching the chamber. Arturo smirks as he stands and walks to the center of the chamber to greet his uninvited guests. He briefly wonders how they got there, no matter, he would kill the two lesser Shinigami with his Zanpakuto, Fenix, and with their power added to his own thanks to Fenix's ability, kill the stronger one, and with that power, he would be truly unstoppable._

_The figures walk into the chamber, the three traitors, Sosuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tousen. Arturo stands by the flame casually, his hands in his pockets._

"_Well well, this is unexpected, someone of such stature hiding out in a cave." Gin states with his usual mocking tone and fox-like grin._

"_Indeed. I see I was not mistaken… it is good to see you have recovered, Arturo Plateado." Aizen states with a seemingly kind smile on his face. He had sensed Arturo's reiatsu from the currently under construction fortress Las Noches. and thought he recognized it. He was glad to see he was correct, Arturo would be a powerful ally, if he could be persuaded to join them, and Aizen didn't intend to take no for an answer. Arturo raises a eyebrow, this was not what he was expecting. He was curious._

"_Hn… I'm surprised three Shinigami would seek me out knowing who I am." Arturo states speaking with a Spanish accent. "Who are you and why are you looking for me, to avenge the Shinigami I killed?"_

"_My name is Sosuke Aizen, and these are my subordinates, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tousen." Aizen states, indicating the other Shinigami. "You asked if we were here for vengeance? Nothing of the sort, quite the contrary, we wish for you to join us." Aizen states._

_Arturo eyes widen slightly at that, a moment later, he grins and chuckles darkly "And why would I join with you and those little fleas you brought?" Arturo sneers_

"_How dare-" Kaname begins reaching for his Zanpakuto only to be cut off by Aizen. "It's alright, Kaname."_

"_Allow me to explain, I intend to overthrow the Soul Society, for that purpose, I am gathering the most powerful Hollows into an army."_

"_And what could you possibly have to offer the Hollow?" Arturo asks, skeptical of this._

"_The power you possess, Shinigamification." Arturo's eyes widen. "You see, I have been experimenting in breaking the barrier between Shinigami and Hollow for quite some time, although I have had little in the way of breakthroughs, I have made progress. However, about 20 years after you attacked, a Shinigami captain and researcher named Kisuke Urahara succeeded where I failed, he invented a device known as the Hogyoku. With it, one can instantly turn a Shinigami into a perfected hybrid, or turn a Hollow into a completed Arrancar such as yourself and bring out their full potential." Aizen explains. Arturo can hardly believe such a thing exists, he can easily imagine what they could do with this. "I see you can tell how dangerous such a thing is, I don't have it yet, but I am searching and even if I don't find it, I should eventually be able to complete the research myself anyway. Furthermore, we already have a number of Hollow, including the current king of Hueco Mundo on our side. Among the army I intend to build, the ten strongest will be called the Espada, and lead the Arrancar, I want you to be the Primera, the leader of the Espada for now at least."_

"…_I must admit that is tempting…" Arturo states, not wishing to serve anyone, let alone a Shinigami no matter how strong they were, but knowing he would probably never find the Hogyoku on his own._

"_I can see you don't wish to follow a Shinigami such as myself, how about this then, since you won't follow me unless I prove myself stronger than you anyway, we fight. If you win, you can absorb my power with your Zanpakuto, if I win, you join my army."_

"_Very well." Arturo responds with a smirk, confident in his skills as he reaches for his sword._

_Aizen's smile widens as he draws his Zanpakuto "Allow me to show you my Zanpakuto. Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."_

_(End flashback)_

He had lost, no, worse, for all his power, he had never stood a chance. He still felt the humiliation, still saw himself, kneeling, unable to stand before an unharmed Aizen. He had utterly refused to accept defeat and continued the fight until he lost consciousness. He awoke in a medical facility in an unfinished white fortress. He had been enraged beyond what he thought possible when he discovered that, while he was out, Aizen had analyzed his spiritual make up and found a way to disable his ability to absorb power. He swore that if he ever got the opportunity, he would make Aizen suffer dearly.

Arturo is brought out of his reminiscing when he senses something odd, a reiatsu signature that's strangely familiar. He locates it with Pesquisa and Sonidos to the top of a nearby rock formation to observe unseen, there he sees something odd, a hollow being attacked by other hollow and slaughtering them. That's actually pretty common in Hueco Mundo, except that the hollow being attacked seemed to be Adjuchas level, even at one point using Cero.

'_Those lesser hollow are attacking an Adjuchas? That can't be, mindless hollow instinctively bow down to Adjuchas. They only attack hollow of their own level, and its reiatsu is too unfocused. So then this is a normal hollow, with Adjucha level powers?_' Arturo thinks to himself. Even the ancient Arrancar had never seen a normal hollow this strong. It had the potential to be one of the greatest soldiers in their army. But why did this lizard-like hollow have a reiatsu signature that was familiar to him? In order to be this powerful when it was just 'born' it must have been very powerful when it was alive. Who did he know that fit that criteria? Then he notices its spiky orange hair and remembers that substitute Shinigami that Aizen had him watch after Rukia was located with him. A task his shape shifting powers made child's play for him.

'_Ichigo Kurosaki._' he recalls. He had to admit the kid mildly impressed him. For a one who had only been a Shinigami for a month to drive back a Gillian without Shikai like he had done was impressive, he could see why Aizen had been interested in the strange substitute Shinigami. This also explains why he didn't recognize the reiatsu at first. Now that he had become a hollow, he had far greater potential. This needs to be reported to Aizen.

Deciding he has seen enough, he vanishes in a buzz of Sonido, returning to his search for other Vasto Lorde.

* * *

**Character Profile**

**Name: **Ichigo Kurosaki

**Species: **Newly created hollow

**Appearance: **muscular Humanoid lizard with a skull like mask that has 5 red lines on its right side, there are also red lines on his arm's and legs (same as when he was training with the Vizard in the canon)

**Skills and abilities: **Adjuchas level reiatsu and abilities (speed, strength, resilience, and cero), high-speed regeneration, abnormally thick hide.

**Current activities: **Devouring hollows.

* * *

**Name**: Arturo Plateado

**Character history: **Main antagonist of Bleach: Shattered Blade, and major antagonist in Bleach: the 3rd phantom

**Species: **self made Arrancar, Vasto Lorde class

**Appearance: **has pale skin, turquoise hair, and yellow eyes, the remains of his hollow mask are it's the upper right jaw which extends around the back of his head in a sort of crest. He wears the standard Arrancar uniform with a belt just below the sash. His Zanpakuto is a basic katana with an hourglass shaped hilt and a black sheath. His hollow hole is at the base of his neck. When he raises his reiatsu, he gains wings of green fire and when he releases his full power, they become multi-colored fire, primarily deep red and pale green. Pictures of him on bleach wiki.

**Skills and abilities: **Master swordsman, enhanced Hierro, Cero, Bala, Sonido master, Pesquisa master, skilled manipulator.

Illusion: Arturo posses the ability to temporarily shape shift as well as alter his reiatsu signature. He can also show others visions with his powers. He used this ability to manipulate the other characters in Bleach: Shattered Blade, the ability requires too much concentration to use in battle, gathered from the fact he never uses any illusion based abilities in combat.

Beam saber: a black and red sword of pure reiryoku that extends from his right hand. He can control the length of the blade. It will be referred to in this story as Espada Hueca (Spanish for hollow sword.)

**Zanpakuto: **Fenix: Spanish for phoenix, Japanese for immortal king. Its element is fire.

**Known Zanpakuto Abilities: **

Power absorption: his Zanpakuto can absorb the reiryoku of anyone he kills and permanently increase his power. Also constantly absorbs reishi and reiryoku to restore his energy while fighting. (partially disabled, still revitalizes him but cannot increase his power.)

**Resurreccion: **unknown

**Occupation: **current Primera Espada

**History: **Over1000 years before the storyline, Arturo, in an incomplete Arrancar form, attacked Soul Society with an army of mindless hollows to destroy it and dominate the world and all souls. After a long and fierce battle, Arturo was driven back after wiping out half of Shinigami(this refers to their total fighting power, meaning captains included). 120 years before the storyline, Arturo returned in as completed Arrancar, now overwhelmingly powerful defeat due to absorbing the power of those he killed the first time, combined with his Zanpakuto's ability, this made him too dangerous to fight head on. They instead used the Shisui Mirror to drain him of his reiryoku and render him powerless. The user died from the strain before this was complete and it looked as if he would destroy the mirror, regain his power, and win. But the mirror then went out of control and, realizing the danger, he escaped to Hueco Mundo. (**Note: in Bleach: the 3****rd****phantom, he failed to escape and he and three Shinigami who fought him were trapped in the Wandering Spirit Realm, a space without time, and reappeared in the present storyline, in Bleach: Shattered Blade, he was sealed the first time he attacked. Also, he was apparently in complete Arrancar form during the first attack in Shattered Blade, but incomplete in The 3****rd**** Phantom**)

**Current activities: **As Primera, controls Hueco Mundo in Aizen's absence, but often does the work himself, monitors powerful hollows.

* * *

**Author notes**

**And so ends chapter one. So what did you think? Personally, I don't think its that good. I would be grateful if you review and answer the following questions. Again, please don't be too harsh. Also, in case you are wondering about why I disabled Arturo's power absorption ability, its because, with his personality, he would simply go kill Vasto Lordes to increase his power until even Aizen could not stand against him, kill him and take over… I didn't want this to happen.**

**Do you think any characters were acting OOC? **

**What kind of ending do you want to see? I've already got a few in mind but I'm curious about what you want to see and I haven't made up my mind yet.**

**Any suggestions for anything I am doing wrong?**

**Does anyone have a problem with me calling Arturo's Zanpakuto by its Japanese name, which actually has a meaning? (The name in the English version is 'Fenice'.)**

**Also, a poll will open soon on who Ichigo's love interest should be. The choices are Rukia and Orihime. For plot reasons I can't continue until I get enough feedback on that so please vote.**

**Again, thanks for reading. Also, remember I will answer any questions you give me about the story, without spoilers of course.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author note**

**Thanks to moonray9**, **Cervantes Osis**, **and xyzinc for reviewing. Oh, and, about the error Cervantes pointed out. When I said Arturo was incomplete the first time, I did mean the attack before the start of the game.**

**By the way, I intend to update bi-weekly, I should have mentioned that in chapter 1. The next chapter may be delayed due to real life problems and the fact that I plan to look for a beta reader.**

**Also, the poll will be closed when the next chapter is uploaded.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

* * *

World of the Living, morning

Isshin was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling. He had eventually gone to bed, but he had not slept. He mourned the loss of his son, who had become a Hollow. The worst fate imaginable to any Shinigami. The body had been taken to his friend, Ryuken Ishida's hospital and placed in its morgue as if he was just found dead somewhere. Now came the worst part, telling his daughters.

He heard them downstairs, he knew it was time to tell them, whether he was ready or not. He gets up and walks to the stairs. Yuzu and Karin, sitting at the kitchen table, heard him coming and when they saw him, they both became worried, they knew something was wrong, from his lack of energy and the slightly depressed look on his face.

"Yuzu, Karin…" Isshin says, both girls note his unusual seriousness.

"What is it, dad? What's got you finally acting your age?" Karin states, hiding her fears of her fathers unusually serious and solemn demeanor. Yuzu on the other hand has an expression that is far more easy to read.

"…I received a call last night after you went to sleep, Ichigo…passed away." Isshin says. His daughters eyes go wide from disbelief, how could that be, he had just been home less than a week ago.

"Wha- what are you trying to pull old man!? There's no way, th-that can't…" Karin exclaims as tears well up in Yuzu's eyes. Karin stops talking when she realizes it's the truth from the look on her face.

"I wouldn't joke about something like this Karin, the cause of death is still unknown, they ruled out violence and drugs. Were to come in and identify the body in an hour."

Yuzu begins to sob uncontrollably and runs into her fathers arms. He looks to Karin, who is looking down at the floor, her hair covering her eyes. She stands there for a few moments before running upstairs. Understanding that she wants to deal with this on her own, he tries to comfort Yuzu, who at the moment seems inconsolable.

Upstairs, Karin locks herself in her room, leaning against the door and begins to cry herself. Ever since their mother died she had been the strong one. Unlike Yuzu, she couldn't do much as far as housework went, so the best she could do since she couldn't help with the work that their mother wouldn't be around to do is stay out of the way and not cry, to not worry others. Since she can't stop her tears, the least she can do is keep them from seeing her while she cries.

* * *

Urahara shop

Uryu, Chad and Orihime were at the Urahara shop sitting at a table, they had been called there early by Yoruichi. They also wondered why Ichigo wasn't there. Uryu was worried about his rival. He, as a Quincy, had superior reiatsu sensing capabilities and, although it was faint, he had sensed Ichigo's reiatsu the other day, and something had been very wrong with it, although it was too faint for him to discern just what was wrong. They were all wondering what was happening when the door slides open and Kisuke Urahara enters the room along with a dark skinned with long purple hair and golden colored eyes.

"Good, your all here." Urahara states.

"Um, Mr. Urahara, who is this?" Orihime asks indicating the purple haired woman.

"Yoruichi Shihoin, this is her true form." Urahara answers calmly as he sits down, Yoruichi chooses to stand. All their eyes widen at this. This was Yoruichi, the talking cat!? Well, that explained how she could talk but raised more questions.

"But that has nothing to do with why I called you here…" Kisuke states, deciding to get to the point before they brought this up. Orihime decides to ask about there missing companion.

"Excuse me, Mr. Urahara but, where is Ichigo, shouldn't he be here too?" Orihime asks.

"That's actually why I called you here…I'm sorry to say this, but…Ichigo died trying to restore his Shinigami powers."

There is not a sound in the room as the three wide eyed teens process this news.

"No." is all Chad states, he looks at Urahara with a stoic expression not betraying his feelings while Orihime whispers Ichigo's name and looks at Urahara with disbelief, seeing the serious and remorseful look on his face and realizing that this is true, she begins to quietly sob. Uryu looks down for a moment with closed eyes, quietly grieving for his lost rival, one of the few Shinigami he respected, before looking up at Urahara.

"How exactly did Ichigo die?" Uryu asks, knowing that Urahara's training did this and wanting to know exactly what killed him. The former captain didn't want to have to tell them the truth, but it was his mistake, his responsibility.

"The training to restore Ichigo's Shinigami powers was a three step process, with the first two steps being extremely risky, I told him that failure would mean death but…" he trails off, leaving Uryu wondering what it was he was trying to put off telling them.

"The first step was to restore his reiryoku, which he completed, but the second was far more difficult. The second phase, the one that killed him, was called the 'Shattered Shaft', Ichigo was thrown into a deep hole after his Chain of Fate had been severed. The purpose of the Shattered Shaft was to turn him back into a Shinigami. If you succeed, it won't matter that the chain is broken. The hole is filled with a gas that accelerates the erosion of the Chain of Fate, to the point that it will completely erode in 72 hours."

Uryu gasps, he is the only one of the teens who knows what happens when the chain erodes completely.

"I see you know what this means Uryu. The only time a human can access such dormant power is when the soul is in terrible danger, such as the threat of becoming a Hollow. That's what happens when the Chain of Fate erodes completely." He winces at the looks of absolute horror on their faces. Ichigo had become a Hollow!? That couldn't be, it just couldn't! That's what was coursing through their minds more or less, but it was reality.

"I take the blame for this, I should have explained the risks and goals more clearly." Urahara says, looking down with a look of remorse.

Orihime stares down in silence as tears run down her face, she had a crush on Ichigo for years, it looked like she would never be able to tell him now. Then she remembers: '_Hollows are returned to normal and pass on when purified_'.

"You… did you purify him?" Orihime asks, hopeful that they may see him in Soul Society.

"Unfortunately no, you know the power he had as a Shinigami, the Hollow he became was far more powerful than I thought possible, he got away, to the world of the Hollows: Hueco Mundo." Urahara explains, destroying the hope Orihime had gained.

"Do you still want to go to Soul Society?" Urahara asks, Chad and maybe Orihime and Uryu had mainly been going for Ichigo's sake, they may back down now.

"It was Ichigo's last wish to save Rukia, I'll go" Chad states calmly, not betraying his sorrow at his friends fate.

"I'll go, I was going to fight Shinigami anyway." Uryu says lying about his reason for going. Orihime nods that she will still go, unable to say another word.

"Good, but without Ichigo, you will need more help." Urahara states

"We won't need help, we can win on our own." Uryu states, confident and determined to avenge his friend.

"Before you continue, there's something you should know, do you remember how powerful the two Shinigami who came here for Rukia were? Well they were wearing a seal to prevent their reiatsu from affecting living souls. They were only at one fifth their real power." Uryu and Chad's (Orihime isn't really listening at this point) eyes widen, the Shinigami who had defeated Uryu and Ichigo had been fighting at only 20%?

"In addition, all the captains, with one exception, have achieved the second and final level of a Zanpakuto's release: the Bankai, which multiplies their power on average five to ten times." silence follows this statement.

"Ichigo had the potential to reach Bankai, which would have allowed him to fight on their level but now…" he trails off. "Ichigo's father has decided to go in his place." Urahara explain, they give him surprised and questioning looks.

"Let me explain, Ichigo got his true Shinigami powers from his father, though he never knew. About 20 years ago, he was a Shinigami captain, I won't go into detail but he fell in love with Ichigo's mother and you get the rest. The catch is that, to hide himself he needed an untraceable Gigai, which slowly destroyed his powers, but I can restore them, and he wants to do this for his son." all their eyes widen again at this revelation, Ichigo's father was a Shinigami captain!? Well, that explained where he got his power from.

"I'm also going to see if I can recruit your father, Uryu"

"What!?" Uryu hisses at Urahara with a furious look, he really doesn't get along with his father, Ryuken.

"I thought you'd react that way, but, despite the way he acts he's a very powerful Quincy." Uryu decides not to argue.

"Look, take the rest of the day off and come back here tomorrow, I'll take over your training."

They nod, get up to leave, Uryu helps Orihime, who is still crying, and they leave in, other than Orihime's sobs, silence. Urahara sighs he was glad that was over, her had not been looking forward to telling them.

"Well, that went well." Youruichi speaks up.

"Yeah, they took the news better than I had hoped." Urahara stated, looking serious. He had a feeling that, despite their preparations, the situation would, once again, end in Aizen's favor.

* * *

Hueco Mundo

Ichigo had ended up deep underground in a large forest of enormous tree like crystal formations. At the top of the skyscraper size false trees was a thick layer of sand. He had wandered into the Menos Forest.

He had been searching through the forest for a few hours now and so far nothing. Where were all the Hollows? He was becoming ravenous.

Then, suddenly, he senses a strange reiatsu, or to be more exact, countless small reiatsu signatures which all seemed to be condensing together. Curious, he decides to check it out. There he finds what seem to be all the Hollows in the area, of various shapes and sizes, fighting with and devouring each other. And more and more Hollows were being attracted to the feasting and as the numbers grew, the reiatsu grew denser.

Deciding it was time to feast, he leaps into the mass of Hollows, slaying two in one slash of his claw, he took one bite off the nearest kill and moved on.

This continued for about 10 minutes, with him slaying them while more and more were drawn. Suddenly, the reiatsu changes, having reached a critical level of density. All of a sudden, he feels intense pain under the reiatsu and his eyes widen as his body and the bodies of the other Hollows break down into red particles, all of which are being drawn to one point.

He roars as his body completely breaks down and his consciousness suddenly finds itself inside the mass of Hollow flesh, as it begins to grow, in a sea of conciousness consisting of his own mind and those of all the other Hollows. He finds his mind is much more powerful than all the others in the new body and he quickly suppresses them, making the body his. The body fully forms, an enormous Hollow at least two stories tall, completely black except for its feet, mask, and a ring of spikes around its neck. The mask takes the form of a more menacing skull with six red lines, three on each side going down from the top of the mask. He had evolved into a Menos Grande, or to be more exact, a Gillian.

The hunger returns, now stronger than ever, worse yet and to his annoyance, he can hardly think do to a maddening whispering in his head, the voices of all the lesser Hollows that made up this new body.

Suddenly, he senses several similar reiatsu signatures around him, looking around, he sees that all the Gillian in the area are moving towards him, unbeknownst to him, this was because Arturo had ordered that he be watched by Adjuchas, and that Gillians be directed towards him should he evolve, not that Ichigo cares why. There is only one question on his mind: which is the next victim?

* * *

Soul Society (next day)

Sosuke Aizen was standing at a computer terminal in the Daireishokairo, the repository of all knowledge and history in Soul Society, deep within the Central 46. In it was the information on the Oken (kings key), which was vital to his goals. For it was only with the Oken that he could open the door to the kings dimension. To kill the king, who had, to Aizen, failed his duties as the one at the top, and become the king, to become god of the world, that was Aizen's goal.

So far, everything had gone according to plan. With him giving orders in place of the Central 46, who he had murdered, Rukia had been taken back to Soul Society, her Gigai destroyed, and her execution by the Sokyoku, which would destroy her spirit body, allowing him to take the Hogyoku, still, just in case, se planned to later research the method to extract items sealed inside souls in this manner.

Killing the Central 46 had been necessary for his plans, not that he regretted it. He didn't like killing those he didn't have to, although he didn't have much of a conscience, or morality or ethics, nor did he care about the lives of other individuals, with a few exceptions throughout his life, even if he did he still wouldn't regret it. They had been corrupt and created many unjust laws, he had done Soul Society a favor by killing them. At any rate, he was one step closer to taking his rightful place on the worlds throne.

Now, next he would have to wait for the boy, the substitute Shinigami who had grown close to Rukia, Ichigo Kurosaki, to come to Soul Society, whether by his own will or by Kisuke Urahara's orders, to attempt to save her. It would be the perfect distraction for him to complete his plans unknown to the other Shinigami.

"Well, well, you seem to be enjoying yourself, captain Aizen." A mocking voice states from the door. Turning around he sees Gin, his second in command, leaning against the door with his arms crossed with his usual wide smile.

"Welcome Gin, why are you here? I take it something happened." Aizen states politely, smiling. He was always polite, regardless of the circumstances. He was also somewhat kind to his loyal subordinates, when he wasn't manipulating them anyway, unless they outlived their usefulness, or acted insubordinate, he enjoyed making those who fell into the latter category suffer for it.

"What, not happy to see your old friend?" Gin asks, acting hurt. "But you are correct, we just got a report from Las Noches."

"Oh, and what was it?"

"Apparently a new Hollow has appeared in Hueco Mundo, despite being a newly created Hollow, its reiatsu is about Adjuchas level and recently, it evolved into a Gillian" Gin states. Aizen's smile widens, a Hollow like that was very rare, it would make an excellent soldier.

"But there's more, apparently, this Hollow was that kid you were interested in." Aizen's eyes widen slightly, this new Hollow was Ichigo Kurosaki, the child he expected to lead the doomed attempt to save Rukia. This had taken Aizen by surprise, something that almost never happened.

"The poor boy" Aizen states sympathetically, anyone who didn't know him would think he was sincere. "And how did this happen?"

"Don't know. Anyway, the Adjuchas are directing the Gillians to him, he should evolve in days at the rate he's going."

"I see."

"Things certainly are going well for us, wouldn't you agree?"

"Indeed, I wonder what Kisuke Urahara will do now."

"Good question. Well, I should go. Unlike you, I don't have someone taking my place back at my division."

Gin walks out and Aizen gets back to reading the data in the repository, wondering how this will affect the situation. Knowing that no matter how it changes, he will control the outcome.

* * *

The World of the Living, night

Ryuken Ishida was standing in a training room on the ground floor of the Karakura Town Hospital, the training ground was a large, blue room made of soul-synthesized silver and glass. As much as he detested his Quincy powers it would be foolish if he didn't maintain them. He was the true last Quincy, the master of every Quincy technique, but he wanted nothing to do with the spirit world, helping the dead was useless in his opinion, that was the Shinigami's job and helping the living was more effective, not to mention that helping the dead didn't make a living.

"Yo, been a while, hasn't it, Ryuken?" a familiar voice calls out from behind him.

Ryuken turns around to see Isshin standing there in his Shinigami uniform.

"How did you get in here, Isshin?…That form…did your powers return?"

"Yeah, looks great, doesn't it?"

"I'm gonna be sick." Ryuken states lighting a cigarette

"… Thanks."

"Why are you here?"

"…We want you to help rescue Rukia." Isshin states.

Ryuken looks at Isshin wit a emotionless look. What were they thinking? They knew he wanted nothing to do with the dead, that he thought all of that should be left for the Shinigami to deal with. So why would they think he would help, as a favor for an old friend? Or was it because they both knew his son would go? Either way, ridiculous.

"Are you that foolish? Why would I help you invade Soul Society to save her?" Ryuken states, without showing any emotion. "I know she was important to your son, and you have my condolences for what happened to him, but why would I get involved?"

"…There have been some things we haven't told you, it didn't matter until now, but…"

Isshin goes on to explain about the Hogyoku being hidden within Rukia's soul, and about how the Shinigami were most likely being manipulated. Ryuken's expression remains unchanged but inwardly, he's slightly shocked. He had known about the Hogyoku and how dangerous it was, but didn't know where it had been hidden until now, nor had he known the true nature of the traitor, Aizen's Zanpakuto.

He understood that, until now, the information was useless to him so he wasn't surprised they hadn't told him, but now he understood why he thought he would help, with an army of complete Arrancar, Aizen could easily take over all three worlds, being alive or dead wouldn't matter in the worst case scenario. He takes the cigarette out of his mouth and breaths out.

"I see…sounds like the Shinigami have been causing problems…that being said its still their problem, but I see why you want my help, this could end up a major threat, to the living and dead."

"So…" Isshin asks. Ryuken sighs.

"I'll think about it."

* * *

One week later, forest outside Karakura Town

Uryu was resting, sitting on a rock. For the past hour he had trained with the new powers granted to him by the Sanrei glove. Knowing the true strength of the captains, he was pushing himself as hard as possible. At the moment, he was wondering how Orihime was doing, he didn't know if Ichigo knew or returned it, but it was obvious that Orihime cared for him, his death and transformation into a Hollow had hit her hard, he was worried about her. She couldn't stop crying during the funeral. On top of that she seemed to almost completely shut down, her training suffered and Urahara was considering pulling her from the operation.

Speaking of which, Tatsuki Arisawa, a childhood friend, also took it particularly hard, as did his other close friends and many of his classmates were saddened, of course. Thankfully, none of the spiritually aware among them knew his true fate.

Knowing how powerful the captains and lieutenants truly were now, he wasn't sure he would be able to help much against them, although he was sure he could fight on par with the lieutenants, he knew he would stand little chance against the captains, not without removing the Sanrei glove. There were only four days left until the Senkaimon was finished and he wasn't confident in their victory after the captains true powers were revealed.

"I'm surprised your training so half-heartedly, Uryu." a calm voice breaks him out of his thoughts, he turns to see his father, Ryuken Ishida, walking into the clearing.

"What are you doing here, Ryuken?" Uryu says with a glare.

"Calling your father by his first name? How rude, I thought I'd raised you better." Ryuken responds with no emotion.

"You didn't answer my question." Uryu responds in a slightly irritated tone.

"Very well, I wanted to see how far you've come, I have to say, unimpressive, your powers are still immature and you've little talent."

"How can you say that when you turned your back on the Quincy!? I thought you looked down on the Quincy and had given up your Quincy powers!"

"You seem to be misunderstand, I said 'I have no interest' and 'you have no talent'. I have, regardless of my personal wishes, inherited all the powers and techniques of the previous generations Souken Ishida." Uryu's eyes widen at this.

"…If you're here, then I guess you've decided to help, why?"

"…I have my reasons." Ryuken states, not revealing the true severity of the situation. "I want to train you to use your powers properly, if only so you don't die in an unsightly manner." Uryu grits his teeth and narrows his eyes, how dare he speak down to him like this!?

"I see you dislike this thought, how about a wager then? Prove me wrong, if you can defeat me, I will give you all my documents on the Quincy as well as the Seele Schneider, if you lose, I will train you until Urahara completes the Senkaimon at the end of the week."

"…Very well, lets see if your as skilled as you think you are." Uryu states summoning his bow.

* * *

Soul Society

Renji Abarai, lieutenant of the 6th squad was training as hard as he could in a forest outside the Rukongai. Currently, he was so exhausted he could hardly lift his arms, but he couldn't stop. He needed to get strong, to save Rukia, his childhood friend. He could still hardly believe it. He was sure that the Central 46 would simply have her temporarily imprisoned, at worst. They were going to _execute_ her, what was worse was how Byakuya, her older brother (well, adopted but still) didn't seem to care at all.

He was trying to reach Bankai, without it he would have no chance of saving her, he knew he wasn't alone. He knew that captains Ukitake and Kyoraku wouldn't stand by and let this happen.

His mind wanders to that orange haired kid that Rukia had gotten close to, that she had lent her power to. The one he held responsible for all this. Ichigo Kurosaki. He hated the rookie for getting Rukia into this, that being said, he didn't hate him enough to wish him dead, he wondered if the kid survived. He also wondered how he and Rukia got so close in such a short amount of time, it was obvious to him she was trying to protect him back there when she told him not to follow.

He shakes the thoughts from his head, he had to focus on training, he still had a month after all, and he was close to learning Bankai. Still, he had better hurry.

* * *

Rukia was sitting in her cell, she had long accepted her fate. Its what she deserved, she had killed her superior, her friend, Kaien Shiba, and now she was most likely responsible for another death. Despite how short they had known each other, she had grown close to Ichigo, she hoped he was safe, but she knew otherwise. She was certain that, if he survived, he would try to save her.

She still remembered, the pain when she saw him impaled by her older brother. She didn't think they could have bonded that much in such a short time. Thinking about him coming, getting killed trying to rescue her was simply unbearable.

'_Ichigo, please be okay, and please don't come, don't try to save me…my life isn't worth it…_'

* * *

Hueco Mundo

Ichigo couldn't think. He had devoured countless Hollows and the voices in his head were so loud now he couldn't hear is own thoughts. But he kept in control of their body, no matter how hard they fought to pull him back.

He had devoured countless Gillians since he evolved, they just kept coming no matter how many he killed, not that he complained, he was getting stronger, that's all he cared about now. Suddenly, something happens, the voices stop and a red reiatsu explodes from him, blinding all who can see him as his form shrinks down.

When the light fades, he feels…good, there is no other word to describe how he feels. The voices have quieted down, although they are still there and he feels so much stronger. He looks at his new form. He is about 12 ft tall now. He isn't bulky anymore, he is muscular but lean, his mask is now more menacing and skull-like now having four red lines coming down from the top of his mask, two stopping just above his eyes. His mask covering not only his face but half of the top of his head and he has two long horns, his hair is the same, long and spiky, and an 8ft long tail. He has 4 red markings coming from his Hollow hole which going around his back and neck and there are more black marks at the end of his tail. Finally, his forearms and claws are covered in bone-like armor, there are three spikes arrayed in a triangle on both his shoulders, and his Hollow hole is larger. Ichigo had evolved into an Adjuchas.

After looking over and getting used to his new body for a few moments, he senses the hunger return and the voices getting a little louder, he decides to go look for his next meal. Until now, he had been avoiding Adjuchas, now, they were his prey.

* * *

**Name: **Ichigo Kurosaki

**Species: **Adjuchas-class Menos

**Appearance: **a large, demonic, humanoid lizard. 12 ft tall, lean, has a long tail. Has red markings coming from his Hollow hole and the tip of his tail and bone armor covering his forearms and claws. Has a menacing, skull like mask with 4 red marks extending from he upper corners of the mask, two stopping just short of his eyes.

**Skills and abilities: **Far above average Adjuchas level reiatsu and abilities, high-speed regeneration, abnormally thick hide, has the unique ability to charge and fire multiple Ceros simultaneously, further abilities unknown.

**Current activities: **Devouring other Adjuchas.

* * *

**Author's notes**

**So ends chapter 2. It came out shorter than I wanted and I am a little dissapointed with it but, oh well. Next chapter starts the Soul Society arc.**

**Is there anything you think is wrong so far?(writing style, wording, characterization, ect.) And what do you think of the story so far?**

**Here's a question about what the readers think of a subject.**

**Arrancar life spans? I think, because Lilinette said Arrancar don't have ages and a few other reasons that their like the Bount and can't die from age, Arturo seems to prove that somewhat being older than any Shinigami besides Yamamoto even when only counting his time as an Arrancar and still looking like a late teen. What does everyone else think?**

**Please review and answer questions.**


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